INVITING THE WORLD AT HOME


"Inviting the World at Home" Rolf Weijburg, 2009 Published by Atlas Publishers, Amsterdam 20x27 cm, 446 pages ISBN 9789045016122
INVITING THE WORLD AT HOME a survey of the world's postal links to the Netherlands
	Isn't it a wonder that the whole world is connected by some huge network that enables anybody anywhere on this globe to send a stamped and addressed piece of paper to any other place in this world, even if it is on the other side of the globe, by just dropping it in some special box or a hole in a wall? It all seems to work, however. But does it work world wide? Can you send a letter from Tombouctou to Ushuaia? Will a letter sent from Tajikistan ever arrive in Pitcairn? Are there letterboxes in Tajikistan? Will there be a postal officer ready with a bag full of mail in remote Tristan da Cunha, at the rare occasion of a ship calling? And suppose this bag contains a card addressed to Utrecht, will this ever arrive? THE PROJECT Fascinated by this seemingly world encompassing system, Rolf Weijburg started his postal project "Inviting the World at Home" in 1977. Weijburg wanted to find out if this system truly functions world wide by trying to receive a postcard sent from every independent country, every international exclave, every colony and overseas territory, in short: from every territory in the world that is surrounded by international borders ánd from every place issuing it's own stamps. These postcards that were handed out to travellers or sent to people known and unknown in all corners of the world, have through the years been taken back to Utrecht, The Netherlands by the postal services of the world. Once back in Utrecht each postcard had become proof of its own journey. Its stamps and postmarks, exotic scripts, remarks, creases and stains and the texts and drawings by the senders telling each card's travell story. Registration of the card's travel time (as calculated from the dates on the postmarks) only added to these stories. During thirty two years these cards have found their way through the world's postal network to Weijburg's front door. Over four hundred cards have now been received and Weijburg decided the project done. With cards sent from places as diverse as Aitutaki, Abkhazia and Zil Eloigne Sesel, from Tokelau, Tajikistan and Tristan da Cunha, all the way from the South Pole and from Jan Mayen, Baarle Hertog and Belize, this project has become an (almost) complete survey of the world's postal links to the Netherlands. A tribute to the postal men and women of the world. THE BOOK To crown it all a 450 page book on this project will be published by Atlas, Amsterdam, December 5th 2009. The four hundred territories from where the cards were sent are each presented with a separate page on which short texts and over 2000 photos of landscapes, streetscenes and local people portray details of local postal environment and activity. As the project covers a time span of over thirty years, the book has become an almost historic document. A very special book, a postal travel book actually, in which not only post and geography, but also culture, politics and history melt into intriguing pages often reminiscent of the atmosphere in Weijburg's color etchings. Truly international as it is, this book could only be written in the English language. SPECIAL EDITION Apart from the commercial edition of this book, available in the bookshops, there will also be a signed and numbered bibliophile edition. This special edition limited to only 175 copies will be available exclusively through this site and can be ordered for the special price of € 195,-.		Abkhazia Adélie Land Afghanistan Aitutaki Akrotiri Aland Alaska Albania Alderney Algeria American Samoa Amorgos Andaman & Nicobar Islands Andorra Angola Anguilla Annobon* Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Argentinian Antarctic Armenia Aruba Ascension Island Australia Australian Antarctic Territory Austria Azerbaijan Azeri Exclaves Azores Baarle Hertog Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Bangladeshi and Indian Exclaves Barbados Barbuda Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bequia Bermuda Bhutan Bioko Bolivia Bophutatswana Bornholm Bosnia - Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brecqhou British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi Büsingen Cabinda Cambodia Cameroon Campione d'Italia Canada Canal Zone Canary Islands Cape Verde Cayman Islands Cays of Belize Central African Empire Central African Republic Ceuta Chad Channel Islands Chatham Islands Chile Chilean Antarctic China - Hong Kong China - Macau China - Tibet China Christmas Island Ciskei Cocos ( Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Brazzaville Congo Kinshasa Cook Islands Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Crozet Islands Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Czechoslovakia Denmark Dhekelia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Easter Island Ecuador Egypt El Salvador England Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands Falkland Isls. Dependencies Fiji Finland France French Guyana French Polynesia French Southern & Antarctic Lands Gabon Galapagos Islands Gambia Gaza Strip Georgia German Democratic Republic German Federal Republic Germany - United Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Grenadines of Grenada Grenadines of Saint Vincent Guadeloupe Guam Guantanamo Bay Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea Bissau Guyana Haiti Hawai'i Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Hutt River Province Iceland Iles Eparses India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israël Italy Jamaica Jan Mayen Japan Jersey Jordan Jungholz Kaliningrad Kampuchea Kazakhstan KenyaKerguelen Kiribati Kosovo Kurdistan Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Line Islands Lithuania Llivia Lord Howe Island Lundy Island Luxemburg Macau Macedonia Macquarie Island Madeira Archipelago Madha Malagasy Republic Malawi Malaysia East Malaysia Peninsular Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Melilla Mexico Micronesia, Federated States Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Morocco - Western Sahara Mount Athos Mountainous Karabakh Mozambique Mustique Myanmar Nakhichevan Namibia Nauru Nepal Neth. Antilles Leeward Isls. Neth. Antilles Windward Isls. Netherlands Nevis New Caledonia New Hebrides New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niuafo'ou Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Minerva Northern Cyprus Northern Ireland Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oecussi-Ambeno Oman Ormidhia Pabay Island Pakistan Palau Palestine West Bank Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Penrhyn Peru Philippines Phoenix Islands Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal PRP Puerto Rico Qatar Queen Maud Land Quemoy & Matsu Ras Musandan Redonda Réunion Rhodesia Rio Muni Romania Ross Dependency Russia Rwanda Saint Barths & Saint Martin Saint Christopher-Nevis-Ang. Saint Helena Saint Kitts & Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Paul & Amsterdam Saint Pierre & Miquelon Saint Vincent & The Grenadines San Andres y Providencia San Marino São Tomé & Príncipe Saudi Arabia Scotland Sealand Seborga Senegal Serbia Serbia-Montenegro Seychelles Shetland Islands Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia Somaliland South Africa South Georgia & the South Sandwich Isls South Korea South Ossetia* South Pole South West Africa Sovereign Order of Maltese Knights Spain Sri Lanka Srpska Republic Sudan Surinam Svalbard Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajik Exclaves Tajikistan Tanzania Tasmania Thailand Timor Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Transkei Transnistria Trinidad & Tobago Tristan da Cunha Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks & Caicos Islands Tuva Tuvalu Uganda UK Ukraine UN Trust Terr. in Pacific Union Island Union Soviet Socialist Reps. United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United Nations Geneva United Nations New York United Nations Vienna United States of America Upper Volta Uruguay US Diego Garcia US Pacific Wildlife Territories US Virgin Islands Uzbek exclaves Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venda Venezuela Vietnam Wake Island Wales Wallis & Futuna Walvis Bay West Berlin Western Samoa Xylothimbou Yemen Arab Republic Yemen People's Dem. Rep. Yemen United Yugoslavia Zaïre Zambia Zanzibar Zil Elwagne Sesel Zimbabwe
	Next to a numbered and signed copy of the original book, this bibliophile edition will also feature an extra booklet with text and images of drawings from various other post related projects Rolf Weijburg has worked on, as well as some "postal travelstories" written by the artist. (This booklet is only available in Dutch.) Purchasers of the bibliophile edition can also make their choice of one of the three color etchings shown here (click on the image to enlarge). These etchings were exclusively made and handprinted in a limited edition for "Inviting the World at Home" by the artist. Book, booklet and color etching will be presented in a beautiful deluxe cassette that will have an original postcard as used throughout the project incorporated in its cover. This postcard will be addressed to the purchaser and will have a special postage stamp exclusively made for this project and postmarked by TNT post. To order this exclusive edition please fill out and send the order form Orders will be treated according to their sequence of arrival.	1 "Write back soon", 2009 color etching, 9,5x17 cm 2 "Being in touch", 2009 color etching, 9,5x17 cm 3 "Airmail", 2009 color etching, 9,5x17 cm